Nelson v Ward
by Katrina Castillo
Summary: Future fic AU: Foggy is not pleased to discover that Matt's been keeping secrets yet again. He's even less pleased to discover that Matt's cousin, 'Grant Murdock,' is in on it. (Headcanon: Flammable Avocados brotp.)


**Future fic. Foggy is not pleased to discover that Matt's been keeping secrets, yet again. He's even less pleased to discover that Matt's cousin, 'Grant Murdock' is in on it. Brotp: Flammable Avocados.**

 **So, my personal headcanon is that Matt Murdock and Grant Ward are cousins; Grant's mother and Jack Murdock are siblings. Grant and Matt met once or twice when they were kids, but prim and proper Mrs. Ward didn't want to be associated with a washed-up boxer, nor did she want her kids to be around him. So Grant and Matt haven't seen each other since they were kids, a short time after Matt's accident.**

 **I feel like this landed more on the humor/crack side. I'm not entirely sure. Tell me what you think!**

* * *

Foggy stared at the two cousins, his glare shifting from one to the other, then back. For their part, Grant and Matt seemed to be completely at ease. Grant moreso than Matt, of course, but Foggy didn't care. His frustration was indiscriminate, and making itself known.

"It took me a while to get used to this," he finally said, looking at Matt. "You wearing a mask, playing vigilante. But I accepted it. I've supported you. Covered for you. Now, you're telling me that your cousin's in on it?"

Matt frowned, but shrugged helplessly. "He came to me for help controlling his powers," he explained. "I wasn't going to turn him away."

"That's not the point, Matt!" Foggy protested. "The point is that you told me that you didn't know who Hellfire is!"

"I really don't like that name," Grant complained from his seat.

"Oh, for the love of-!" Foggy cursed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Look, Foggy, it wasn't my intention to complicate anyone's life," Grant insisted. "I knew Matt was Daredevil… He was the only one I could go to for help."

Foggy paused at that. "The only one? You don't have any siblings? Parents? Anyone else who could help?" When Grant remained silent, looking away, Foggy nodded in understanding. "Right… Sorry, man."

"I needed to stay under the radar," Grant stated, changing the topic. He hesitated. "I still do."

"'Stay under the radar?'" Foggy repeated. "Why?"

"Foggy," Matt tried.

"No, hold on a second, Matt," Foggy interrupted. "There's only two types of people who need to 'stay under the radar.' That's spies and fugitives." He turned to Grant. "Which one are you?"

Grant couldn't help but chuckle. "To be honest? Both."

"You're harboring a fugitive?!" Foggy exclaimed, turning to Matt in despair.

"And spy," Matt added, not bothering to stop hold back a chuckle.

"No, you don't laugh," Foggy snapped. "This is not funny!" He looked back at Grant. "Is Grant Murdock even your real name? Are you two actually related?"

"We're related," Grant assured. He hesitated. "My name… isn't Murdock." Foggy crossed his arms, waiting for more information. Matt, sensing his cousin's apprehension, simply shrugged in response, knowing Grant saw it. The spy sighed. "It's Ward."

Foggy's brows furrowed. "Ward," he murmured, his brain working. He recalled the significance of that name, and his eyes widened. "Holy – _Grant Ward_?! As in _HYDRA_ , Grant Ward?!"

"Why does everyone always focus on the HYDRA thing?" Grant groaned.

"He isn't HYDRA, Foggy," Matt assured. "He never was. Don't you think I asked these kinds of questions?"

"He's a spy!" Foggy protested. "I don't care if you can hear heartbeats, Matt! He could've manipulated his when you questioned him."

"'Manipulated my heartbeat?'" Grant repeated.

"He could've tricked you!" Foggy continued.

"Wait, you listened to my- _you can hear heartbeats_?" Grant wondered, staring at Matt.

"Oh, like you didn't know," Foggy sneered, turning to Grant. The spy's face remained impassive, making Foggy hesitate. Seeing the unimpressed expression on Matt's face, he winced. "Oh… you didn't know."

"Look, Hellfire and Daredevil have been doing good work together," Matt said, changing the subject. "You know that."

"Yea, yea," Foggy said, waving the comment away. "So what?"

"Foggy, I've _seen_ you fanboy over Hellfire," Grant stated in amusement, smirking when Foggy gave him the finger.

"We need a plan to legally protect Grant," Matt interrupted.

"Wait, you want us to defend a fugitive?" Foggy asked, confused. "What happened to 'innocent clients only?'"

"He's my cousin Foggy," Matt replied. "Some of the only family I have left. SHIELD mistreated him when he was in their custody, and-"

"Woah, wait," Foggy blurted. "Please tell me we're not going to be defending him against _SHIELD_."

"They like to keep tabs on anyone and everyone with powers," Grant supplied. "Hellfire's been on the news more than a couple of times already, which means I'm on SHIELD's radar."

"Something tells me that SHIELD doesn't know that Grant Ward and Hellfire are one and the same," Foggy concluded. Grant nodded.

"And I'd like to keep it that way," he added. "SHIELD's going to come around sooner or later, and they're going to search all of Hell's Kitchen to find me. I won't get a trial. Not if they get their hands on me. I'm likely to get a bullet in the head at the soonest possible convenience."

Foggy ran a hand through his hair. He saw the injustice, the improper way Grant would be dealt with. It seemed like the spy was trying to turn his life around; Hellfire had saved countless people over the last few months. Not to mention that having Grant around had been good for Matt. Sighing, Foggy looked at Grant. "If they find Hellfire, we can't stop SHIELD from tagging you. And that'll lead to them discovering your identity. There's nothing we can do to legally protect you."

"Because, legally, Grant Ward is a criminal," he muttered. At that, Grant's brows furrowed. "What if Grant Ward didn't legally exist?"

"What do you mean?" Matt wondered.

"When my team went underground, right after HYDRA revealed itself, one of the agents on my team erased all of our identities," Grant explained. "Every record of us ceased to exist."

"Everything?" Matt questioned.

Grant nodded. "That means you don't legally exist!" Foggy exclaimed, fist bumping Matt. "The man SHIELD is looking for doesn't legally exist; ergo, they can't charge you, _Grant_ _Murdock_ , with anything!"

"Give me a new, legal identity, and they can't arrest me or charge me?" Grant wondered.

"Exactly," Matt replied. "Because they'll have no proof that you are, or ever were, Grant Ward."

"Which means you, my friend, are home free," Foggy finished. Grant rose an eyebrow.

"So now we're friends?"

"Nothing solidifies friendship like working together to screw over a government agency," Matt joked.

"Here, here," Foggy agreed. He paused, thinking to himself. "Maybe we should start representing superheroes and vigilantes more often."

"Somehow, I can't see Captain America or the Hulk using your services," Grant huffed with a half-grin.

"Nah, not the Avengers," Foggy corrected. "The unknown guys. The up-and-comers! Daredevil and Hellfire. Ant-man. That spider kid flying around Midtown. The masked heroes who aren't backed by shady government agencies."

"Those kinds of cases would definitely bring a lot of press," Matt smiled. "And a lot of clients."

"And we have the combustible spy to thank for being our first client of the sort," Foggy stated. He looked at Grant. "You will be receiving a bill, by the way."


End file.
